Tagbilaran fire victims appeal for help

THE DAY AFTER At least 88 families lost their homes in a fire that hit Barangay Poblacion 2 in Tagbilaran City on Dec. 23, in this photo taken on Dec. 24. LEO UDTOHAN

TAGBILARAN CITY—At least 88 families in this capital city of Bohol province, who lost their homes to a fire that also killed three people just two days before Christmas, were in need of help, officials said.

They require clothes, food and other basic items as everything they owned went up in smoke along with their houses after a fire struck a densely populated coastal community in Barangay Poblacion 2 sometime past 12 a.m. on Friday.

“It’s the saddest Christmas for me. I was not able to save my things,” said Stephen Obeñita, 20, on Christmas Eve.

The fire killed three people from the same family who were not able to get out from the second floor of their house.

Firefighters later found—hugging each other on a pile of debris—the bodies of Edgar Manzano, 50; his common-law wife Remedios Balucas, 50; and their daughter Myer, 11.

The couple’s young son survived because he was in a church where he served as altar boy when the fire struck, said Tagbilaran City Mayor Jane Yap.

At least 88 families displaced by the fire that gutted at least 50 houses were temporarily housed at the village’s gymnasium where they were given emergency kits, food and water.

Yap said the city government would provide more material and financial assistance to the victims but also urged the public to come to their aid.

“They need used clothes including underwear, ready-to-eat food, milk and diapers, medicine,” she said in an interview on Friday.

She also urged people to donate toys for the displaced children to help them cope with the trauma.

Those who would want to help may send their assistance to the donation drive area at the City Hall Atrium, Yap said.

Arson eyed

According to the City Fire Department, the blaze broke out at 12:10 a.m. from an undetermined house. It quickly spread to adjacent houses as most of them were made of wood and light materials.

The blaze was under control at around 2 a.m. and was put out at 3:35 a.m.

Fire investigators were looking into the possibility that the fire was intentional.